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specialized solutions in capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is a special edition of "bbc world news america," reporting live from the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. "give me four years, america." barack obama prepares to make his case for reelection at this convention. the european central bank unveiled its most ambitious plan yet to rescue the currency, and markets like what they hear. back here in charlotte, we take a tour of this gathering, where

it appears the delegates still love their president. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. tonight, barack obama will officially accept his party's nomination for the presidential election this november. he will then use that acceptance speech to make his pitch to american voters that they will be better off if they give him four more years in the white house. last night, he turned to a democratic star for a bit of help. [applause] >> the once disgraced president rose to the rescue. obamamania has faded, along with hope and change, and the man who

describes himself as a little country boy is a hero for now, much more popular than the president appeared this was classic clinton -- only sheer charisma can hold a crowd enraptured with a speech truck full of facts and figures, explaining obama's achievements, defending his record. >> are we where we want to be today? no. is the president satisfied? of course not. but are we better off than we were when he took office? [applause] >> the president's came on for a brief hogged. they are not friends, but they are now allies. -- the president came on for a brief hug. although the magic has faded, many still love obama. >> ♪ barack obama is in control ♪ >> but the street has been here to bear witness to the raw passions, particularly on issues

like gay marriage and abortion. >> this is the first presidential election -- >> thomas blue voted for obama last time, but he is wavering, looking for answers, asking what the president will do if he is reelected. >> most of what i've heard is about gay marriage, abortion, social issues. i'm not going to have an abortion. i'm not worried about gay marriage. i'm really concerned about the economy, and not hearing a lot of answers, and that is what is really going to make my decision this election. >> in 2008, obama's convention rally was inspirational. tonight's speech was going to be in another big stadium, but it had to be moved because of the weather, but republicans claim he could not fill enough seats. >> he has had four years now. he did not focus on the economy or spending or the debt and deficit. anything you hear contrary to that tonight is just smoke and

mirrors. >> tonight, obama stands alone -- his turn to defend his record. >> for more on what is at stake from that speech, i am joined now by mark. thank you for joining me. we were both down in tampa last week. one thing that struck me is that the mood is different up here. >> yes, i think it is. it is interesting. they tried to achieve different things from the platform. in tampa, there were quite excited. they thought they were on the verge of victory, but they did not want anything too wild, too crazy. a lot of people think they might not win. they are worried about their own state, where about how it goes, so the idea from the platform would be to ram them up, get the really exciting speakers to excite the crowd, to make them feel pumped up, make them want to go home and think, "yes, we can win this." >> what the candidates have to do in these critical speeches is also different, isn't it? >> yes, it is.

president obama has to get at the vote, get up the coalition. remember the technique where he would go around trying to get the old gang together again -- "lets just pull off one last big job." that is what he has to do. the difficulty is he wants to strike a positive tone, but he does it by saying, "without me, it would have been worse," but also "if mitt romney comes in, all sorts of things would be worse off." you see a barrage of women warning by a barrage of people warning that the women, the gay people -- things would be very different under mitt romney. he has got to strike that tone but also sound a positive, presidential no. >> in the stadium, we know from the last couple of nights that the crowd will go wild. if you are watching this in ohio or one of those other critical battleground states, how much detail do you want to hear from

the president about what he will do in the next four years? >> in clinton's speech, there were loads of details, and unless you are a mathematical genius, you could not follow it. i think he has got to come up with some sort of plan. it amazes me -- 60 days to go to the election, and we do not know what he would do if he wins a second term. we know his vision, his plan -- how would you make things better? i think he has got to do a bit of that, not to just impress voters in ohio, but to impress political correspondents and make them say, "this guy has got an idea." >> he has got to say, "i know you're not in a great position now, but give me four more years of the same presidency, and you will be in a better position." >> yes, it could have been much worse.

nobody thinks they will lose the republican majority in the congress, so i do not know who -- how he gets around that. how does he make them work with him? i do not see that. >> we saw today the 3 major share indexes rose to their highest in years. tomorrow, we will have jobs numbers out. very excited about the convention in charlotte, but in the end, those numbers matter more. >> i think they do. whether president obama gets a bounce in the opinion polls depends not on what he says tonight but what those figures say tomorrow. i think that probably is true, but it is possibly too late. even if the figures are good, and to might persuade people things will look up, but it is how they feel now that really matters. i think it is almost too late to change people's economic perception, but maybe if they are really good figures they will think, "he is right. it has worked."

but i am not certain about that. >> thank you for joining me in charlotte as well as last week in tampa. as of dealing with the american economy were not hard enough, white house officials are also keeping a nervous eye on the eurozone. they got some relief today. in july, the head of the european central bank said he would do whatever it takes to save the euro, and now, he has come up with a plan. the bank has changed its rules, allowing added to by the sovereign debt of struggling nations. our europe editor has the story. >> troubled economies like spain got thrown a lifeline to it. the european central bank said it stood ready to buy unlimited amounts of bonds to help bring down borrowing costs for countries like spain and italy. the market's bounce on news of an ambitious plan designed to ease the eurozone crisis -- the market's -- the markets bounced.

six weeks ago, mario druggie promised to do whatever it takes to preserve the europe. today, explain how. >> we will have a fully effective backs up to avoid destructive scenarios with potentially severe challenges for price stability in the euro area. >> so how with the plan work? the ecb would buy unlimited government bonds from a eurozone country asking for help. that should drive down the country's borrowing costs, but there would be strings attached. nations would first have to request help from the eurozone's bailout fund, and except strict conditions such as austerity measures. >> on the streets of madrid today, protests against a visit by the german chancellor, angela merkel. they blame her for austerity. when she met with the spanish prime minister, he would not be drawn on whether he would now be asking for a bailout. angela merkel spoke of the need

to restore confidence in the euro as a whole. later, a spanish minister cast doubt on whether spain would seek help. >> i know you say that in the short term, certainly, that spain does not need to ask for a rescue. >> according to the figures in the financial situation right now, we believe that we can be self-sufficient. >> but those regions -- but there are regions that see why spain may need a rescue. for companies like this furniture factory, it is a harsh climate. consumers are not spending, and it is almost impossible to find credit. once bustling industrial estates are shuddered. the town, like so many, is struggling with huge debt. even the street lighting is being reduced. today's announcement was the ecb's big bazooka. there will be no limits on the amount of government bonds the central bank can buy. quite simply, they can continue

until the borrowing cost of those troubled eurozone countries are brought down. as for the markets, they soared on the news. >> all eyes will now be on spain. will it asked for help? will it except possibly tough new conditions? >> the markets like it today, but will that rescue plan actually work? two murders that shocked and mr. hyde -- and mystified people in france and britain. four people shot. them in a car owned by a british man of iraqi origin. the men's two young daughters survived the attack. one is in the hospital after apparently being left for dead. the other, aged only four, spent eight hours hiding under the bodies in the car. >> in the tranquillity of the alps, a fleet of hearses,

carrying the bodies of a family from surrey, gunned down on their summer holiday. they have been in their car at this remote beauty spot when they were shot in the head at point-blank range. the police say what happened in this vehicle was an act of extreme savagery. when danny heard the automatic gunfire. she told me it lasted 30 seconds, and then, silence. "why? why did it happen here?"she asks. "was it random? was it some kind of revenge attack? those poor little girls. it is horrible." the police are trying to find answers. they say there is no clear motive for the attack, but one possibility was that it was a targeted assassination. they are looking into the family's background in iraq.

the police have spent hours today talking to other holidaymakers searching through the camp site, trying to find any clue that might explain what has happened. so what do we know? the family left the camp site yesterday around lunchtime. they drove their bmw from the small town along a tourist route through the forest. the next we know is that just before 4:00 local time, their car was found by a british cyclist. inside were the bodies of the three adult members of the family. outside -- the older daughter was found seriously injured. the body of a local man was also discovered. it is thought he might have been shot because he happened to witness the killings. police sealed off the area, and it was only when forensic teams arrived from paris eight hours later that the four-year-old girl was found in the car,

hiding under her dead mother's legs. the little girl was deeply upset and traumatized, says the local prosecutor. she has asked for her family. we need to help her and her older sister explain to us what has happened. on the shores of the late, there's this belief tonight, does believe that it took so long to find a little girl, but also does believe that the shootings happened here at all. these british holidaymakers were driving in the same area at the time of the attack. >> it is scary. when we look at the map this morning and trace where we have been and how close it was to where the incident happened, it is dreadful. >> as well as shop, there is fear in this region tonight, that the perpetrators are still at large. the french president says everything possible will be done to find them and to restore the outline -- alpine calm.

>> an awful story there from france. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come on the program, the last of the americana miners are freed from prison, but a deal to end the strike over pay is still elusive. now, here is something you probably will not see any of the presidential candidates doing in america -- the russian leader vladimir putin has found time to take to the skies in a motorized hang glider. it was all for a good cause -- training captive siberian cranes to migrate south for the winter. >> vladimir putin with his new best friend -- the siberian crane. preparing to go where no president has gone before.

for his latest action man stunned, he stopped off at a remote peninsula in russia's far north. the leader of a nation of 140 million people, he was trying to train five rather reluctant birds to fly south for the winter. the white siberian crane is close to extinction, and this group had been born in captivity. the president did not fly the aircraft by himself. a pilot sat just behind him at all times during the flight. vladimir putin is genuinely and expert, but among other things, the russian people have now seen him bare knuckle boxing, swimming in the current against the siberian river, writing their tested on a horse, and most recently, scoring goals playing ice hockey. once vladimir putin actions tons were about enhancing his image as a strong, virile leader.

now, they are as much about distracting attention from the very real political problems he faces here in the russian capital. >> but despite the winning opinion polls and the fact that he is 60 next month, he clearly still believes the television picture opportunities are an important part of his enduring popularity. >> in south africa, the remaining 160 workers from the platinum mine have been freed after a controversial murder charges were dropped. but the pay dispute at the mine continues because the breakaway union has refused to sign a deal with the owners. our correspondent is at the mine. >> relief that more protesters walked free today from core. as murder charges were withdrawn against them.

just hours after a mass march, a break through overnight. management in all but one of the trade unions have signed a police -- a peace accord, paving the way for wage talks in the next few days, but those talks will only begin when mine workers return to their jobs. >> it is important for people to return to work. that frees us up to the gauge in this negotiation and to find ways that we are -- to ensure that we are finding ways to negotiate a resolution. >> the document spells out the must report back to work monday, but it does not talk about demands as workers. >> meanwhile, bleak scenes at the mine today.

the grim weather conditions seemed a fitting metaphor for the turbulent few weeks at this platinum mine. although the hailstorms have scuffled plans for the demonstrations, it has further exposed the bleak conditions south africa still faces. it is not as much about frustration about leadership as it is about pay. >> i found a striking minor. typical for tens of thousands who live in the townships. once they voted for the anc without question in the hopes that life would improve. broken promises have left them out in the cold. >> i am not aware of anyone that wants to go back to work. all the people are saying that we would rather be killed than go back to work. >> who do you blame for the

ongoing inequality in south africa? >> i think the government are responsible. they are the ones in charge. they are the ones that should be blamed. it is their duty to improve our lives. >> there is much bitterness here over the way this bill has been handled. bitterness as well that poverty that stubbornly persists rather than being addressed is being used to settle political scores. >> well, with two months left until the american presidential election, polls show the race is close. as well as trying to persuade undecided voters, both candidates have got to try to motivate their base, and that is what these party conventions are really all about. barack obama will take to the stage tonight to rally the legions of supporters and volunteers who helped carry him to victory back in 2008. four years on, the picture is a bit more complicated and shows that mr. obama has work to do.

>> back in l.a., obama was a brand-new figure, like the next kennedy. it was a big deal, really excited. >> because of what we do on this day in this election at this defining moment, change has come to america. >> it was my turn. that is how i saw it. it was my time to finally get my ideas and my thoughts out there. i would go into the office at, like, 4:00 right after school and not leave until 2:00 in the morning. now, i have stepped away. >> in the beginning, i was supportive of the president. not necessarily for the serial vied that he had -- the e

thereal vibe that he had. a lot of people got consumed by that and were not focusing on him as a president. so i started to volunteer last year because i am all over this election. supporting the president, and as i like to say, having his back this year. i really wanted to be a foot soldier for the campaign. >> before he was energizing us based on hope and change, all of that, i think, just entranced so many people in a way that they are not ready to get back up, they are not ready to let that go -- they are not ready to give that up. >> i was naive back in 2008. i thought this man would be able to have four successful years where everything he attempted to

do would get done. because of it, i have become quite apathetic, not in the man, but in the fundamental system of our government. >> it is easy for me to go into this campaign with my moral high because i get it. i understand why we need to move forward. i understand why it is necessary for president obama to win a second term. he has to finish what he started. >> i am disheartened. i have lost a lot of faith in him. >> are around the country, there are doubts about whether president obama deserves another four years, but here in charlotte this week, as we found out, they are as devoted as they ever were. in 2008, barack obama's image was it enshrined. ♪

we can , yes, we can yes, we can ♪ >> today, it is commercial and a little tap here, but the adulation of his base, particularly african-american -- that has not changed. after four tough years, obama now has a record to defend, and democrats are protective of their president. >> get them while they last. they are moving fast. >> mostly, they are here for a good time. with a sly dig at clint eastwood's of performance last week. they are still buying obama buttons in charlotte and helping the country will buy the message that only he can take them forward. >> that view from charlotte bringing today's show to a close. remember you can get updates on

all our stories and events here at the national convention on our web site, and you can always get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. from all of us here at "world news america," thanks for watching. >> makes sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank.

>> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was >> "bbc world news" was presented by